CrossFit: A growing phenomenon in Newport-Mesa

Using a length of PVC pipe, Marti Moormann of Costa Mesa moves through the parts of the weightlifting snatch during a group crossfit exercise session at CrossFit Newport Beach. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Errol High, left, of Costa Mesa is joined by Jon Neal, center, of Newport Beach, and Bill Villarinho of Newport Coast, in a stretching session as their CrossFit class begins. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Jim Johnston of Huntington Beach jumps over a bar bell as part of a three-phase exercise that includes reps of burpees and snatches during a CrossFit training session. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Brian Escobar of Costa Mesa encourages Errol High of Costa Mesa as High works to complete his rowing exercises at CrossFit Newport Beach. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Jim Johnston of Huntington Beach does the snatch along with other class members during a CrossFit training session at CrossFit Newport Beach. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

In the time it would take you to bake a frozen pizza, Whitney Huguelet had completed a series of exercises that would leave most people on the floor, gasping for air.

In a span of 25 minutes, the 23-year-old nanny from Newport Beach had stretched, performed three sets of clean pulls and, three times continuously, completed this daunting routine: a 400-meter run, 10 overhead squats of 55 pounds, and several jumps on top of a three-foot wooden box.

Without breaking a sweat.

And that Workout of the Day or WOD, as CrossFit enthusiasts call it, was only half of the one-hour workout that a group of 10 people completed on a Wednesday night.

Inside CrossFit Newport Beach, you immediately hear the sounds of bar-bells slam on the floor and women grunting as they perform Olympic weightlifting. Men and women wear exasperated looks on their faces.

But this doesn’t look like the typical commercial gym. There are no air conditioners; no flat screen televisions; no person in uniform trying to sell a membership. There are no treadmills, elliptical machines, a weight room or even a place to do aerobics.

Instead, inside this industrial warehouse that borders Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, large monster truck tires decorate the back; a few weight benches, bumper plates and a squat rack sit around the floor; and a weathered looking gymnastics rings stand in the corner.

Want to run as a warm up? Hit the street. Chalk marks are scrawled outside marking a starting and an end point down the street.

This is the first CrossFit affiliate gym to open in the Newport Mesa area in 2006. Since then, 12 more have popped up with hundreds of members.

“Before we opened CrossFit Newport Beach, CrossFit gyms were a relatively new idea,” said Melissa Metzke, who owns the company. “There were really only a few gyms across the country.

“Like most paradigm shifts,” she adds,” CrossFit as an exercise method took a little time to gain traction. Once it did, we saw an increase in membership at the gym and an exponential increase in interest in CrossFit in the region. The concentration in Newport is likely due, in part, to the fact that CrossFit became well known here relatively early and the Newport Beach lifestyle.”

CrossFit was founded by Greg Glassman, a former personal trainer, who opened the first gym in the mid-1990s in Santa Cruz. Glassman, who was known for his unconventional training method, created his own workout routine that combines gymnastics, weightlifting and calisthenics. He trained mostly police officers and firefighters. Then others began coming in.

Unlike going to a gym where you may perform a few stretches before spending your time on a treadmill or a weight room, CrossFit is a fluid, rapid succession of exercises. The classes are done in groups and the exercises they perform, called WOD, are random. The workouts focus on basic functional movements, like squats, pull-ups and push-ups. Each workout is scalable so anyone can perform it.

Soon Glassman had created a cult-like fitness community and CrossFit gyms – or “boxes” as they call it - began opening up around the country. In 2005, there were only 13 CrossFit boxes in the U.S. Now, there are more than 7,000 boxes worldwide.

Reebok purchased a stake in CrossFit in 2011 and ESPN now broadcasts the CrossFit Games on their network.

Huguelet started CrossFit when she was 17 in 2007. She said she likes it because she got tired of going to gyms and seeing no results.

“It’s easier for me to be told what to do than make up my own exercise at a gym,” Huguelet said. “It was a waste of time and money and I hated being surrounded by a bunch of meatheads. Hiring a trainer there is more expensive than coming here.”

“CrossFit is something different,” she said. “You don’t get bored. It’s something different every day. And you also meet a lot of good people and it’s a fun group.”

Laura Scheper, a coach at Ruination CrossFit, said CrossFit has had a tremendous impact on her life. When she started to CrossFit a couple of years ago, she had little athletic background.

“CrossFit workouts are different,” Scheper said. “It doesn’t isolate one muscle, it works on multiple muscle groups and the community is amazing. Everyone roots for each other and although it’s a group setting, the coaches are there to give you individual attention.”

She said as a coach, she’s seen firsthand how the exercise can change a person’s life for the better.

“You see people gain confidence,” Scheper said. “Every day they push themselves to new limits and when you’re encouraged through that and accomplish those goals, it changes your mindset. They become healthier, confident, more assure of themselves and begin to take risks and it translates to their life outside of the gym.”

For all its popularity, CrossFit has detractors, too.

Michael Andersen, a physical therapist at Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, said he’s seen a few patients who’ve suffered lower back and leg injuries from CrossFit exercises related to lack of proper training and mechanics.

In extreme cases, there have been reports that people who CrossFit could suffer from rhabdomyolysis, a disease that occurs when a muscle breaks down and a protein called myoglobin is released into the bloodstream, entering the kidney and ultimately, causing kidney damage.

“Rhabdomyolysis usually happens to people with a crushing injury, or severe burns but also with high loads of high level exercise like an ultra marathon or training in CrossFit,” he said.

Danny McDermott, a USA weightlifting national coach and a member of the California Powerlifting Hall of Fame, said the problem with CrossFit is that some trainers lack the skills to properly train the powerlifting and Olympic Weightlifting exercises. Because of the ease of attaining a CrossFit training certificate and ability to open a CrossFit box, McDermott would like to see a proper fitness and weight training mandate.

“When you are trained by someone who lacks the education or experience you risk injury,” he said. “Crossfit prides itself in not specializing in anything however they require competitors to perform specialized movements.”

McDermott suggests if people are still interested in the popular exercise program to “interview the people and find out about experience, education and see if they are qualified. Don’t go to someone who has a paper certification and not produced any results. Some certifications are weekend certifications. Stay away from those people. Just because someone has a certificate doesn’t mean they have the experience to properly train people.”

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